Southbound or Wandering?

May 18, 2011

By Anonymous

Image Credit: Jean T., Hollis, NH

The author's comments:

We did this as a project after doing our poetry section

“Southbound on the freeway” (Poem 1) and “I wandered as a cloud” (Poem 2) are two very same and very different poems. This is discovered by scanning and identifying parts of each poems and comparing them. “Southbound on the freeway” is about a person who had “childish” views of cars. They view them as metal beasts who drive on the freeway and respect the beasts that have five lights, the fifth turning. In “I wandered as lonely as a cloud” the perspective is from a cloud as it passes over the ocean and the fields of daffodils.“Southbound on the freeway” and “I wandered lonely as a cloud” have similar approximate rhymes, imagery, and tone and are different in metaphors, personification, and rhyme.

Now the first similarity is, both poems approximate rhymes. Approximate rhymes are rhymes but not quite rhymes. Sort of like a half rhyme, it sounds the same but doesn’t end in the same spelling. With both poems it helps change up the boring monotone, makes the poem more appealing to the reader by changing up the spelling while still rhyming. From poem “1”, “Trees and Breeze” (5,6), this approximate is fun to say over and over again making it interesting to the reader. From poem “2”, “Go Slow” (18), this approximate “rolls on the tongue” funny. The quote from poem 1 and poem 2 are prime examples of an approximate rhymes. Both are similar because the approximate rhymes make both poems more appealing to the reader so the reader is less likely to lose interest..

The second similarity in both poems is the imagery, many of the images appeal to your sight. The imagery uses words that pop at the reader and creates a better image in the readers mind. Poem 2 uses “Golden Daffodils” (4) and “sparkling waves” (14) there were other images scattered through out the poem but the majority were sight. When the reader says those imagery word it creates a very vivid image in their head. While poem 1 uses “Hiss”(21) and “Transparent”(5) while one maybe a sound the other and the rest are sight. Now transparent is a very “non boring” word, it is very interesting, you can see it, but you can’t because its invisible. The reason that all or the majority are sight is so you can more envision these poems than feel, taste or hear them, it also makes the poems easier to understand and know what the author is trying to describe.

The last similarity I’m gong to address is that of the tone, the tone of poem 1 is wondering and in awe of, the point of view come from as if these metal and glass beasts are titans or even gods. While in poem 2 its a much happier tone about looking at the world in general and how the world dances and sparkles with beauty, this view how ever is from an odd angle, from the sky. From both points of view these poems should change how you look and feel about the objects in your world.

These poems are different by a couple aspects one being rhyme, in “Southbound on the freeway” it’s a free verse with no rhyme what so ever,this helps it flow smoother and with less punctuation allows you to read it much faster. While in the second poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud” its a rhymed Iambic trimeter. Rhymes such as “Glance and Dance” (11,12) “Thought and Brought” (17,18) appear through out poem 2. These differences help show the authors different styles and also how they each wanted the poems to flow.

Another one of these differences is the use of personifications. The order of the personification is different, in “I wandered lonely as a cloud” It is a human thing to a non human thing. The other poem is non human to human thing. In poem 1, “They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude” (21-22), the order is something human to something non human. While in poem 2, “The creatures of this star are made of metal and glass” (3,4), this one portrays non human to human things. The order makes each poem unique.

There are a couple more differences between these two poems but the last one going to be compared is the differences between metaphors. “I wandered lonely as a cloud” has few metaphors one of these being “They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude” (21-22). This is a direct metaphor which is he only type that this poem had, but in “Southbound” it has both direct and indirect poems.

As you can see there are many subtle differences between these two poems, poem 1 a curious yet balanced work of art and he second poem is much more planned and less loose, but still a work of art.

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